here is the simplified version of how i put my whimsie balls together......first a few concerns. if you are making these for childrens toys--it should go w/o saying but you can never be too careful---THINK about the fabrics you are using and think about what stuffing would be the SAFE-ST for a child who usually put things in their mouths!!!!!!!! another concern is that there are 36 pieces in ONE whimsie ball & a portion of it is HAND sewing. don't let this deter you from making these!!! if you have any questions, ASK!

this is what we are looking for, a wedge/orange peel sort of, shown in BLUE

you need a circle to start, anything round will do if you don't have a compass

trace circle & divide into 4 sections

one section is the pattern; think of it as a fan

cut one of your "fans" out, flip it over to trace the second edge to make your blue "wedge"

you will have two pieces, a fan section and a wedge section

sew the wedge section to the top of one of the fan sections

sew the wedge to the other section [along the curved edge]

your section should now be sewn together and have 2 fan sections & a top [sewn to both bottom sections along the curve]

you need two fan sections & one wedge to make one of twelve sections to make the whimsie ball

now it's time to sew bottoms together. the arrows designate direction for sewing. pivot around the corner, back tack and leave a space for turning. the next step would be to take your fabric out & start at the opposite end & sew toward the open space & back tack. Make sure you leave enough space to be able to turn the entire ball right side out!

the scissors are pointing to the starting point which is most important--you don't want to catch the top fabric in your seam

think of these little 3 pc sections as an ice cream cone.... to finish an entire ball you will need twelve sections [consists of 3 pcs each] if you hold 3 sections by their points[bottom of the ice cream cone]and hand sew them together you will have one of four sections you need to make one ball! simple, right?